Infographic Reveals How Content Goes Viral

Striking it viral can be difficult. There’s no exact recipe or formula and going viral requires luck (and frequently money as well), but ProBlogger has done a little research and asserts that, even if you can’t guarantee virality, understanding the key components of what makes content go viral can help you ensure that your great content gets "the attention it deserves."

These days everyone from marketers to designers, bloggers and video producers dream of “going viral.” Everyone wants to be the next Charlie Bit My Finger or Old Spice guy. But striking it viral can be difficult. There’s no exact recipe or formula and going viral requires luck (and frequently money as well), but ProBlogger has done a little research and asserts that, even if you can’t guarantee virality, understanding the key components of what makes content go viral can help you ensure that your great content gets “the attention it deserves.” The ProBlogger research has been compiled into an awesome infographic called Understanding Viral Content Marketing. The infographic covers everything from Metcalfe’s Law of viral marketing to the types and anatomy of viral content, the reasons we share, design, execution and more.

There is tons of great food for thought in the infographic, but I think the biggest takeaway is the idea that “Viral content relies on two things. The content itself is worthy of being shared [and] the content is shared widely enough to reap the benefits of the networks they are shared on.” If your content is not worthy of being shared then your odds of going viral are slim to none. First things first, you need to put a lot of thought into coming up with content that is worth sharing. Then you can start thinking about everything else.

Check out the fantastic infographic below to learn more about what it takes to go viral. Have you attempted a viral campaign in the past? If so, how did it go? Did you follow the rules in this infographic? We’d love to hear about your experience in the comments below.

Megan O’Neill is the resident web video enthusiast here at Social Times. Megan covers everything from the latest viral videos to online video news and tips, and has a passion for bizarre, original and revolutionary content and ideas.